Earth-working machines, such as, excavators, wheel loaders, hydraulic mining shovels, cable shovels, bucket wheels, bulldozers, and draglines, for example, are generally used for digging or ripping into the earth or rock and/or moving loosened work material from one place to another at a worksite. These earth-working machines include various earth-working implements, such as forks, a bucket, or a blade, for excavating or moving the work material. Such implements can be subjected to extreme wear from the abrasion and impacts experienced during the earth-working applications.
To protect these implements against wear, and thereby prolong the useful life of the implements, various ground engaging tools, such as teeth, edge protectors, and other wear members, can be provided to the earth-working implements in the areas where the most damaging abrasions and impacts occur. These ground engaging tools are removably attached to the implements using customized retainer systems, so that worn or damaged ground engaging tools can be readily removed and replaced with new ground engaging tools.
Many removable ground engaging tool systems have been proposed and used for earth-working implements. One example of a wear assembly for excavating equipment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,882,649 to Carpenter et al. The disclosed wear assembly includes a wear member and a base each with upper and lower stabilizing surfaces that are offset and at overlapping depths to reduce the overall depth of the assembly while maintaining high strength and a stable coupling. A nose and socket each includes a generally triangular-shaped front stabilizing end to provide a highly stable front connection between the nose and wear member for both vertical and side loading. A lock is movable between hold and release positions to accommodate replacing of the wear member when needed, and secured to the wear member for shipping and storage purposes.
A block handler is a specific type of wheel loader for moving or breaking out large blocks of stone or other material in a quarry, mining, or construction environment. The block handler is typically a front loader configured in a special arrangement to be able to handle the heavy weight of the blocks, such as by having an increased counterweight or high pressure hydraulics. A variety of attachments may be used to handle the stone such as a breaker tine or forks.
The block handler uses a breaker tine for prying loose large stone blocks. The breaker tine is built with an extra thick tine to handle a variety of materials in this demanding application. However, the tip of the breaker tine is prone to wear during use from breaking out and moving heavy stone blocks and other materials. Repair and servicing of existing breaker tines is cumbersome, as it requires the burning of the welds of the tine attached to the main frame. This adds the risk of additional weld stresses and decreases the predicted service life of the breaker tine. Additionally, such repairs may be difficult to perform at customer sites, due to remote locations or accessibility of repair equipment.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved ground engaging tool systems that include on-site replaceable breaker tines. Various aspects of the disclosure may solve one or more of these problems and/or disadvantages.